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THE  BLESSED  DAMOZEL 


j^Reprintcd  from  The  Germ 


J&THE  BLESSED  DAMOZEL  BY 
DANTE  GABRIEL  ROSSETTIjgF 


Portland  Maine 

Thomas  B  Moshcr 

Mdccccv 


11 


*NRY  MORSE.  STEPHENS 


PREFACE 


LONE  among  the 
higher  artists  of  his 
age,  Mr*  Rossetti  has 
felt  and  given  the 
mere  physical  charm 
of  Christianity,  with 
no  admixture  of  doc 
trine  or  of  doubt* 
Here  as  in  other  things  he  belongs,  if  to  any 
school  at  all,  to  that  of  the  great  Venetians* 
He  takes  the  matter  in  hand  with  the  thorough 
comprehension  of  Tintoretto  or  Veronese,  with 
their  thorough  subjection  of  creed  and  history 
to  the  primary  purpose  of  art  and  proper  bear-* 
ing  of  a  picture*    He  works  after  the  manner 


111 


514908 


of  Titian  painting  his  Assumption  with  an 
equal  hand  whether  the  girl  exalted  into  god' 
dess  be  Mary  or  Ariadne:  but  his  instinct  is 
too  masterly  for  any  confusion  or  discord  of 
colours;  and  hence  comes  the  spiritual  charm 
and  satisfaction  of  his  sacred  art*  In  this  class 
of  his  poems  the  first  place  and  the  fairest  palm 
belong  to  the  4  Blessed  Damozel/  This  par' 
adisal  poem, '  sweeter  than  honey  or  the  honey 
comb/  has  found  a  somewhat  further  echo  than 
any  of  its  early  fellows,  and  is  perhaps  known 
where  little  else  is  known  of  its  author's*  The 
sweet  intense  impression  of  it  must  rest  for  life 
upon  all  spirits  that  ever  once  received  it  into 
their  depths,  and  hold  it  yet  as  a  thing  too  dear 
and  fair  for  praise  or  price.  Itself  the  flower  of 
a  splendid  youth,  it  has  the  special  charm  for 
youth  of  fresh  first  work  and  opening  love; 
'the  dew  of  its  birth  is  of  the  womb  of  the 
morning;'    it  has  the   odour  and    colour    of 


iv 


cloudless  air,  the  splendour  of  an  hour  without 
spot  The  divine  admixtures  of  earth  which 
humanize  its  heavenly  passion  have  the  flavour 
and  bloom  upon  them  of  a  maiden  beauty,  the 
fine  force  of  a  pure  first  sunrise*  No  poem 
shows  more  plainly  the  strength  and  wealth  of 
the  workman's  lavish  yet  studious  hand*  One 
sample  in  witness  of  this  wealth,  and  in  evi' 
dence  of  the  power  of  choice  and  persistent 
search  after  perfection  which  enhance  its  price, 
may  be  cited;  though  no  petal  should  be 
plucked  out  of  this  mystic  rose  for  proof  of  its 
fragrance*  The  two  final  lines  of  the  stanza 
describing  the  secret  shrine  of  God  have  been 
reformed ;  and  the  form  first  given  to  the  world 
is  too  fair  to  be  wholly  forgotten :  — 

4  Whose  lamps  tremble  continually 
With  prayer  sent  up  to  God ; 

And  where  each  need,  revealed,  expects 
Its  patient  period/ 


Wonderful  though  the  beauty  may  be  of  the 
new  imagination,  that  the  spirits  standing  there 
at  length  will  see  their  'old  prayers,  granted, 
melt  each  like  a  little  cloud/  there  is  so  sweet 
a  force  in  the  cancelled  phrase  that  some  stu' 
dents  might  grudge  the  loss,  and  feel  that, 
though  a  diamond  may  have  supplanted  it,  a 
ruby  has  been  plucked  out  of  the  golden  ring* 
Nevertheless,  the  complete  circlet  shines  now 
with  a  more  solid  and  flawless  excellence  of  jewels 
and  of  setting.  The  sweetness  and  pathos  and 
gracious  radiance  of  the  poem  have  been  praised 
by  those  who  have  not  known  or  noted  all  the 
noble  care  spent  on  it  in  rejection  and  rearrange' 
ment  of  whatever  was  crude  or  lax  in  the  first 
cast;  but  the  breadth  and  sublimity  which 
ennoble  its  brightness  and  beauty  of  fancies  are 
yet  worthier  of  note  than  these*  What  higher 
imagination  can  be  found  in  modern  verse  than 
this? 


vi 


'From  the  fixed  place  of  Heaven  she  saw 

Time,  like  a  pulse,  shake  fierce 
Through  all  the  worlds/ 

This  grandeur  of  scale  and  sweep  of  spirit 
give  greatness  of  style  to  poetry,  as  well  as 
sweetness  and  brightness*  These  qualities, 
together  with  the  charm  of  fluent  force  and 
facile  power,  are  apparent  in  all  Mr*  Rossetti's 
work;  but  its  height  of  pitch  and  width  of  scope 
give  them  weight  and  price  beyond  their  own."  \ 

.*.  See  Essays  and  Studies.  By  Algernon 
Charles  Swinburne.  Crown  8vo.  London, 
1875.  Pp.  82^84.  The  essay  on  Rossetti  was 
first  printed  in  The  Fortnightly  Review  for 
May,  1870. 


Vll 


UCH  was  the  splendid 
tribute  rendered  by  one 
great  poet  to  another  at 
a  period  when  contemn 
porary  criticism  was 
singularly  barren  of 
results.  It  came  when 
mostneededbyRossetti, 
and  to  this  day  remains  unapproached  by  any 
later  appraiser  of  literary  values*  The  concur  • 
rent  approval  expressed  by  William  Morris 
though  less  fervid  in  phrase  is  no  less  satisfying 
in  its  absolute  sincerity*  #\ 

♦\  "  A  poem  in  which  wild  longing,  and  the 
shame  of  life,  and  despair  of  separation,  and  the 
worship  of  love,  are  wrought  into  a  palpable 
dream,  in  which  the  heaven  that  exists  as  if  for 
the  sake  of  the  beloved  is  as  real  as  the  earthly 
things  about  the  lover,  while  these  are  scarcely 
less  strange  or  less  pervaded  with  a  sense  of  his 


vim 


For  Mr*  William  Sharp,  /.  who  originally 
suggested  the  plan  here  adopted  of  printing  entire 
the  textual  variants  of  The  Blessed  Damozel, 
it  doubtless  suffices  that  Mr*  Swinburne  has 
recently  and  still  more  generally  advocated  the 
same  idea — has  indeed  made  it  a  labour  of  love 
binding  upon  any  future  editor  who  would  do 
honour  to  his  text*  ♦*. 

passion,  than  the  things  his  imagination  has 
made."    (The  Academy,  May  14,  1870*) 

*\  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti:  A  Record  and  a 
Study.  By  William  Sharp.  8vo.  London, 
1882.  Pp.  335^340.  By  textual  variants  is 
meant  verbal  alterations  only.  To  have  given 
Rossetti's  changes  in  punctuation,  or  similar 
minutiae,  would  not  have  contributed  in  the 
remotest  degree  to  our  knowledge  or  enjoyment 
of  the  poem. 

♦\  "My  illustrious  friend  Mr.  Swinburne 
wrote  to  me  some  while  ago  that  a  better  ser* 


IX 


The  origin  of  the  poem  is  happily  placed 
beyond  conjecture*  To  Mr.  Hall  Caine  we 
owe  the  publication  of  a  verbal  statement  made 
to  him  by  Rossetti  in  the  autumn  of  188  J  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  latter  reciting  Poe's  Ulalume 
and  The  Raven : 

44 1  remember  that,  touching  the  last'tnentioned 
vice  to  the  memory  of  my  brother  as  a  poet 
could  hardly  be  rendered  than  to  print  the 
variants  in  the  successive  published  forms  of 
his  several  poems;  for  (as  he  said),  while  the 
changes  introduced  were  almost  invariably  for 
the  better,  the  older  readings  were  often,  from 
the  point  of  view  which  had  prompted  them,  so 
felicitous  that  few  persons  except  Dante  Rossetti 
(with  his  insatiable  passion  for  the  best)  would 
have  had  the  heart  to  sacrifice  them/'  (W*  M» 
Rossetti:  Introduction  to  the  Blessed  Damozel 
with  Decorations  by  W*  B.  MacdougalL  4to. 
London,  J  898.    P.  xiv.) 


of  these  poems,  he  remarked  that  out  of  his  love 
for  it  while  still  a  boy  his  own  Blessed  Damozel 
originated*  'I  saw'  he  said,  'that  Poe  had 
done  the  utmost  it  was  possible  to  do  with  the 
grief  of  the  lover  on  earth,  and  so  I  determined 
to  reverse  the  conditions,  and  give  utterance  to 
the  yearning  of  the  loved  in  heaven/  "  •*• 

Bearing  in  mind  that  The  Raven  was  first 
published  in  the  New  York  Evening  Mirror  for 
January  29th  J  845,  the  following  statement  by 
Mr*  W*  M*  Rossetti  may  be  taken  as  conclusive : 

"He  wrote  The  Blessed  Damozel  early  in 
J  847  (if  not  indeed  in  1846),  ♦  ♦  .  'in  a  kind  of 
Gothic  manner/  and  included  it  with  other 
poems  under  the  general  title  Songs  of  the  Art 
Catholic*  Of  the  first  form  of  the  composition, 
that  which  appeared  in  the  family  magazine 

.%  Recollections  of  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti* 
By    T*    Hall    Caine,     8vo,     London,    J  882. 

P.  284 

» 

xi 


towards  1847,  no  trace  remains,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  extends.  .*.  The  second  form  is  that 

which  was  printed  in  The  Germ Before 

publishing  the  poem  in  The  Germ,  my  brother 
added  four  stanzas  to  it.  ♦  ♦  .  I  think  it  not 
unlikely  that  they  may  have  been  stanzas  6,  9, 
13  and  either  14  or  17." 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  The  Blessed 
Damozel  as  a  poem.  From  an  artistic  stand' 
point  the  subject  did  not  immediately  attract 
Rossetti's  attention.  His  first  picture  in  oils  was 
undertaken  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  William 
Graham,  (1873' 1877).  It  was  painted  life  size 
with  predella,  and  is  the  one  more  generally 
known.  A  second  painting,  (1879),  for  Mr. 
F.  R.  Leyland  is  similiar  but  not  identical  and 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  reproduced.  Four 
crayon  portraits  of  the  principal  figure  exist,  all 
of  them  studies  from  the  some  model.      The 

.\  Nor  can  the  original  manuscript  be  traced. 


XII 


one  here  given  as  frontispiece  is  from  the  picture 
executed  in  J  874  for  Lord  Mount'Temple,  but 
incorrectly  named  Sancta  Lilias* 

Next  to  that  youthful  head  "beloved  of 
Leonardo  "  "  which  Love  chooses  for  its  own/' 
may  we  not  place  this  later  and  even  lovelier 
presentment  of  Alexa  Wilding,  whose  glorious 
beauty  thus  transfigured  became  in  Rossetti's 
solemn  trance  and  vision  the  Blessed  Damozel 
we  know  and  worship  evermore  ? 

"Lo!  it  is  done*    Above  the  enthroning  throat 
The  mouth's  mould  testifies  of  voice  and  kiss, 
The  shadowed  eyes  remember  and  foresee* 
Her  face  is  made  her  shrine.    Let  all  men  note 
That  in  all  years  (O  Love,  thy  gift  is  this !) 
They  that  would  look  on  her  must  come  to  me/' 


Xlil 


THE  BLESSED  DAMOZEL 


jfiFTHE  BLESSED  DAMOZEL  BY 
DANTE  GABRIEL  ROSSETTIjfiF 


A  Reprint  of  the  original  text  taken 
from  The  Germ,  mdcccl,  including  all 
variants  from  The  Oxford  and  Cam' 
bridge  Magazine,  mdccclvi;  Poems, 
mdccclxx,  and  the  Collected  Works, 
mdccclxxxvi. 


HE  BLESSED 
DAMOZEL 
LEANED  OUT 
From  the  gold   bar 
of  Heaven : 
Her  blue  grave  eyes 
were  deeper  much 
Than  a  deep  water, 
She  had  three  lilies  in  her  hand,  [even* 

And  the  stars  in  her  hair  were  seven* 


1856: 

Her  eyes  knew  more  of  rest  and  shade 

Than  waters  still'd  at  even ; 

1870:  1886: 

Her  eyes  were  deeper  than  the  depth 

Of  waters  stilled  at  even ; 


II 


jtfFHcr  robe,  ungirt  from  clasp  to  hem, 

No  wrought  flowers  did  adorn, 

But  a  white  rose  of  Mary's  gift 

On  the  neck  meetly  worn ; 

And  her  hair,  lying  down  her  back, 

Was  yellow  like  ripe  corn* 


1856:  1870:  1886: 

For  service  meetly  worn ; 

1870:  1886: 

Her  hair  that  lay  along  her  back 


m 

jtfFHerseemed  she  scarce  had  been  a  day- 
One  of  God's  choristers ; 
The  wonder  was  not  yet  quite  gone 
From  that  still  look  of  her's ; 
Albeit  to  them  she  left,  her  day 
Had  counted  as  ten  years. 


IV 


O  ONE  it  is  ten 
years  of  years : 
♦    ♦    .    Yet  now, 
here  in  this  place, 
Surely  she  leaned  o'er 
me,  —  her  hair 
Fell  all  about  my 
face* 

Nothing :  the  Autumn^fall  of  leaves* 

The  whole  year  sets  apace*) 


♦     ♦     ♦ 


J856:  J870:  1886: 

.     .     .    Yet  now,  and  in  this  place, 


T  WAS  the  terrace 
of  God's  house 
That  she  was 
standing  on,— 
By  God  built  over 
the  sheer  depth 
In  which  Space  is 
begun ; 
tgn,  tnat  looKing  downward  thence, 
She  could  scarce  see  the  sun. 


1856:  1870:  1886: 
It  was  the  rampart  of  God's  house 
The  which  is  Space  begun ; 
She  scarce  could  see  the  sun* 


VI 

jflFIt  lies  from  Heaven  across  the  flood 
Of  ether,  as  a  bridge* 
Beneath,  the  tides  of  day  and  night 
With  flame  and  blackness  ridge 
The  void,  as  low  as  where  this  earth 
Spins  like  a  fretful  midge* 


1856:  J870:  1886: 

It  lies  in  Heaven,  across  the  flood 

1870:  1886: 

With  flame  and  darkness  ridge 


8 


vn 

jgFBut  in  those  tracts,  with  her,  it  was 

The  peace  of  utter  light 

And  silence*    For  no  breeze  may  stir 

Along  the  steady  flight 

Of  seraphim ;  no  echo  there, 

Beyond  all  depth  or  height 


This  stanza  is  not  in  the  later  editions* 


vm 

j^FHeard  hardly,  some  of  her  new  friends, 

Playing  at  holy  games, 

Spake,  gentle^mouthed,  among  themselves, 

Their  virginal  chaste  names ; 

And  the  souls,  mounting  up  to  God, 

Went  by  her  like  thin  flames* 


1856: 

She  scarcely  heard  her  sweet  new  friends : 

Softly  they  spake  among  themselves 

J  870: 

Amid  their  loving  games 

Spake  evermore  among  themselves 

1886: 

Around  her,  lovers,  newly  met 

'Mid  deathless  love's  acclaims, 

Spoke  evermore  among  themselves 

Their  heart'remembered  names ; 


10 


IX 

j(g?And  still  she  bowed  herself,  and  stooped 

Into  the  vast  waste  calm ; 

Till  her  bosom's  pressure  must  have  made 

The  bar  she  leaned  on  warm, 

And  the  lilies  lay  as  if  asleep 

Along  her  bended  arm. 


1856: 

And  still  she  bow'd  above  the  vast 

Waste  sea  of  worlds  that  swarm ; 

1856:  1870:  1886: 

Until  her  bosom  must  have  made 

1870:  1886: 

Out  of  the  circling  charm ; 


U 


X 

jj^From  the  fixt  lull  of  heaven,  she  saw 

Time,  like  a  pulse,  shake  fierce 

Through  all  the  worlds*    Her  gaze  still  strove, 

In  that  steep  gulph,  to  pierce 

The  swarm :  and  then  she  spake,  as  when 

The  stars  sang  in  their  spheres. 


1856:  J870:  1886: 

From  the  fix'd  place  of  Heaven,  she  saw 

Within  the  gulf  to  pierce 

Its  path ;  and  now  she  spoke,  as  when 

1856: 

The  stars  sung  in  their  spheres. 


12 


[X 

J^FThe  sun  was  gone  now*    The  curPd  moon 

Was  like  a  little  feather 

Fluttering  far  down  the  gulf*    And  now 

She  spoke  through  the  still  weather* 

Her  voice  was  like  the  voice  the  stars 

Had  when  they  sung  together*] 


Between  stanzas  X  and  XI  this  stanza  was 
introduced  in  the  1856  text*  and  retained*  with 
slight  changes  in  punctuation,  in  the  1870  and 
1886  versions. 


1870:  1886: 

Had  when  they  sang  together* 


13 


[XI 

J§F(Ah  sweet !    Even  now,  in  that  bird's  song, 

Strove  not  her  accents  there, 

Fain  to  be  hearkened  ?  When  those  bells 

Possessed  the  mid'day  air, 

Strove  not  her  steps  to  reach  my  side 

Down  all  the  echoing  stair?)] 


In  1870  this  stanza  was  included  as  XI.  It 
first  appeared  in  the  1856  text  as  XVI,  with 
these  variations : 

Ah  sweet !     Just  now,  in  that  bird  song, 
Was  she  not  stepping  to  my  side 
Down  all  the  trembling  stair  ? 


14 


XI 


u 


X 


WISH  that  he  were 

come  to  me, 

For  he  will  come/' 

she  said* 

44  Have  I  not  prayed 

in  solemn  heaven? 

On  earth,  has  he  not 

prayed  ? 

Are  not  two  prayers  a  perfect  strength  ? 

And  shall  I  feel  afraid  ? 


1856:  1870:  1886: 

Have  I  not  pray'd  in  Heaven  ?  —  on  earth, 

Lord,  Lord,  has  he  not  pray'd  ? 


15 


xn 

j0fuWhcn  round  his  head  the  aureole  clings, 

And  he  is  clothed  in  white, 

Fll  take  his  hand,  and  go  with  him 

To  the  deep  wells  of  light, 

And  we  will  step  down  as  to  a  stream 

And  bathe  there  in  God's  sight. 


J870: 

We  will  step  down  as  to  a  stream, 

1886: 

As  unto  a  stream  we  will  step  down, 


\6 


xm 

jfiF"We  two  will  stand  beside  that  shrine, 

Occult,  withheld,  untrod, 

Whose  lamps  tremble  continually 

With  prayer  sent  up  to  God ; 

And  where  each  need,  revealed,  expects 

Its  patient  period. 


1856: 

With  prayers  sent  up  to  God ; 

1856:  1870:  1886: 

Whose  lamps  are  stirr'd  continually 

And  see  our  old  prayers,  granted,  melt 

Each  like  a  little  cloud* 


17 


XIV 

J&f"W£  two  will  lie  if  the  shadow  of 

That  living  mystic  tree 

Within  whose  secret  growth  the  Dove 

Sometimes  is  felt  to  be, 

While  every  leaf  that  His  plumes  touch 

Saith  His  name  audibly* 


1856:  1870:  1886: 
Is  sometimes  felt  to  be, 


18 


XV 

"And  I  myself  will  teach  to  him — 
I  myself ,  lying  so,  — 
The  songs  I  sing  here ;  which  his  mouth 
Shall  pause  in,  hushed  and  slow, 
Finding  some  knowledge  at  each  pause 
And  some  new  thing  to  know/' 

1856:  1870:  1886: 

The  songs  I  sing  here ;  which  his  voice 
And  find  some  knowledge  at  each  pause, 
Or  some  new  thing  to  know* 


19 


XVI 

LAS!    to    her    wise 
simple  mind 
These  things  were  all 
but  known 
Before :  they  trembled 
on  her  sense, — 
Her  voice  had  caught 
I  their  tone* 

Alas  for  lonely  Heaven !    Alas 

For  life  wrung  out  alone ! 


In  the  texts  of  1870  and  1886,  for  these  two 
parenthetical  stanzas,  XVI  and  XVII,  a  single 
one  was  substituted : 


20 


xvn 

Alas,  and  though  the  end  were  reached  ?  .  ♦  ♦ 
Was  thy  part  understood 
Or  borne  in  trust  ?    And  for  her  sake 
Shall  this  too  be  found  good  ? — 
May  the  close  lips  that  knew  not  prayer 
Praise  ever,  though  they  would  ?) 


J870:  1886: 

(Alas !  We  two,  we  two,  thou  say'st ! 

Yea,  one  wast  thou  with  me 

That  once  of  old*    But  shall  God  lift 

To  endless  unity 

The  soul  whose  likeness  with  thy  soul 

Was  but  its  love  for  thee?) 


2J 


xvm 


E  TWO/'  she 

said, "  will  seek  the 

groves 

Where  the  lady 

Mary  is, 

With  her  five 

handmaidens, 

whose  names 


Are  five  sweet  symphonies :  — 
Cecily,  Gertrude,  Magdalen, 
Margaret  and  Rosalys. 


22 


XIX 

jgP'Circle'wise  sit  they,  with  bound  locks 

And  bosoms  covered ; 

Into  the  fine  cloth,  white  like  flame, 

Weaving  the  golden  thread, 

To  fashion  the  birtlvrobes  for  them 

Who  are  just  born,  being  dead* 


1856:  1870:  1886: 
And  foreheads  garlanded ; 


23 


XX 

J§F"He  shall  fear  haply,  and  be  dumb* 
Then  I  will  lay  my  cheek 
To  his,  and  tell  about  our  love, 
Not  once  abashed  or  weak : 
And  the  dear  Mother  will  approve 
My  pride,  and  let  me  speak* 


24 


XXI 

JjpPHerself  shall  bring  us,  hand  in  hand, 

To  Him  round  whom  all  souls 

Kneel  —  the  unnumbered  solemn  heads 

Bowed  with  their  aureoles : 

And  Angels,  meeting  us,  shall  sing 

To  their  citherns  and  citoles* 


1856: 

Kneel,  the  unnumbered  ransom'd  heads 

1870:  1886: 

Kneel,  the  clear^ranged  unnumbered  heads 


25 


xxn 

J§F"There  will  I  ask  of  Christ  the  Lord 

Thus  much  for  him  and  me :  — 

To  have  more  blessing  than  on  earth 

In  nowise ;  but  to  be 

As  then  we  were, — being  as  then 

At  peace*    Yea,  verily* 


1856:  1870:  1886: 

Only  to  live  as  once  on  earth 

1856: 

At  peace  —  only  to  be 

1870:  1886: 

With  Love,  —  only  to  be, 

1856:  1870:  1886: 

As  then  awhile,  for  ever  now 

Together,  I  and  he* 


26 


xxm 

:"Yeat  verily;  when  he  is  come 
We  will  do  thus  and  thus : 
Till  this  my  vigil  seem  quite  strange 
And  almost  fabulous ; 
We  two  will  live  at  once,  one  life ; 
And  peace  shall  be  with  us/' 


This  stanza  was  cancelled  in  the  later  texts* 


27 


XXIV 

HE  gazed,  and  listened, 

and  then  said, 

Less  sad  of  speech  than 

mild; 

"All  this  is  when  he 

comes,"    She  ceased : 

The  light  thrilled  past 

her,  filled 

With  Angels,  in  strong  level  lapse* 

Her  eyes  prayed,  and  she  smiled* 


1870:  1886: 

The  light  thrilled  towards  her,  filTd 

With  angels  in  strong  level  flight* 


28 


XXV 

(I  saw  her  smile*)    But  soon  their  flight 
Was  vague  'mid  the  poised  spheres. 
And  then  she  cast  her  arms  along 
The  golden  barriers, 
And  laid  her  face  between  her  hands, 
And  wept.     (I  heard  her  tears.) 


1870:  1886: 

(I  saw  her  smile.)     But  soon  their  path 

1856:  1870:  1886: 

Was  vague  in  distant  spheres ; 

1856: 

And  then  she  laid  her  arms  along 


29 


NOTES 
I 


TANZA  viii  gave 
Rossetti  much  trouble* 
In  one  or  more  reis' 
sues  of  the  mdccclxx 
volume  of  Poems,  lines 
ii  and  iv  have  addi' 
tional  variants  as  fol' 
lows: 

In  joy  no  sorrow  claims, 
Their  rapturous  new  names ; 

A  microscopic  examination  of  these  intermediate 
editions  before  the  Collected  Works  were  finally 
put  forth  by  Mr,  W.  M.  Rossetti  (mdccclxxxvi) 
might  reveal  still  further  minor  changes.  It 
is  evident  that  improvement  was  impossible. 
The  poem  had  already  crystallized  into  perfect 
speech.    Beyond  this  not  even  Rossetti  could  go. 


31 


n 

"  The  final  verse  was  to  the  last  a  thorn  of 
indecision  to  the  author,  he  never  quite  agreeing 
as  to  whether  "she  cast  her  arms  along  the 
golden  barriers,"  or  "  she  laid  her  arms,  etc.," 
was  the  better,  ultimately  choosing,  ere  the 
proofs  were  returned,  the  earlier  reading*  Also 
in  this  verse  he  thought  of  altering  in  the  1 88  J 
edition  the  last  four  words,  "  I  heard  her  tears  " 
to  "  I  felt  her  tears,"  but  refrained  on  the  ground 
that  where  there  might  be  an  apparent  realistic 
gain  there  was  spiritual  loss/'  —  William  Sharp, 


32 


Here  ends  The  Blessed  Damozel  a  faith' 
ful  reprint  of  the  poem  by  Dante  Gabriel 
Rossetti  as  it  originally  appeared  in  The 
Germ  for  February  mdcccl,  together  with 
the  textual  variants  taken  from  The  Ox' 
ford  and  Cambridge  Magazine  mdccclvi,  the 
Poems  of  mdccclxx,  and  the  final  version 
in  the  Collected  Works  of  mdccclxxxvi* 


Of  this  third  edition  Four  hundred 
and  fifty  copies  have  been  printed  on 
Kelmscott  hand^made  paper,  and  the 
type  distributed. 

Published  by  Thomas  B*  Mosher 

at  xlv  Exchange  Street, 

Portland,  Maine. 

Mdccccv* 


-iX\i* 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  dare  «<.m».j  u  , 

Re„       JK  "f  date  ~  whichere?ewPed  ^°W' " 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  inSate  recall. 


'  o.ajm,  pcrx 


IQVED  LY 


